ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIOS:
The Weebly Wonders of the World
Portfolios are a necessary tool for every job interview. They provide evidence such as a resume, an award, or a work sample to back up in visuals what is said in words.
Unfortunately, there’s a problem with these traditional paper portfolios. First, they are not travel-friendly. As more papers are added, they become heavier, often discolor, and wrinkle with age. Another dilemma is that a paper portfolio does not stay overnight with employers. So if a hiring committee needed a sec- ond look at a candidate’s credentials, they would have to rely on memory alone. With the importance of going green spreading in America, what a waste of paper every time a document is updat- ed. It is clear that a multimedia, web-based collection works best for a world driven by technology. With the help from a generous grant, my classroom was given a flip camera, two digital cam- eras, headphones, and two scanners to fuel the dream of creating digital portfolios that will ultimately highlight the wonderful achievements that our students have to offer future employers.
To begin the process of creating electronic portfolios, students were introduced to Weebly. Weebly is a free, easy-to-use way to create a website. With its drag-and-drop interface and user-friendly design, students quickly used it as a home for their portfolio. Six separate pages were constructed including a home page, introduction page, professional page, world of work page, and work samples page. A letter of introduction, mission statement, resume, cover letter, references, letters of recommendation, presentation on a selected career, awards
MACULJOURNAL |
By Tasha Candela MACUL Grant Recipient
and certificates, and work samples were stored on the student’s personal website. By scanning awards and certificates, taking photographs of work samples, and creating professional videos of curricular and extracurricular activities, students were able to showcase their abilities with ease. All of these career materials, housed online, will give students an edge. Freshman student Chloe Jennings, whose Weebly site is http://chloejennings.
weebly.com, had strong feelings about designing her website. She said, “I enjoyed making a portfolio on Weebly because it gave me the steps to build for a successful and rewarding life. This class will help me now and in a few years when I’m looking for my first job.”
Although these students are still refining their pages, this is an excellent beginning and will certainly give each student an edge over their competition. These career/technology foundations students experienced a lesson that transformed naive ninth grade students into soon-to-be career professionals. I am proud to share the hard work of six other ninth grade individuals with you:
http://carliecraven.weebly.com/ http://evasmith.weebly.com/ http://garik10.weebly.com/ http://marykatemccarthy.weebly.com/ http://matthewpaul11.weebly.com/ http://seanvanwambeke.weebly.com/
Tasha Candela is a Business/English teacher at Lake Shore High School, Saint Clair Shores. She can be reached at
tcandela@lsps.org.
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